Our New Addition has Arrived!!!!

I'm just writing to announce that my new baby girl arrived on Feb. 4th. Baby and mom are well. Trying to get into our new routine, very busy, obviously no time for blogging lately!!

I'll be back, however!!!

Ciao for now!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Hoisin Duck Stir Fry

I just love Peking Duck. It's bar none one of my favorite Chinese dishes. The crispiness of the duck skin, the richness and moistness of the beautiful dark duck meat, the sweetness of the hoisin sauce, the freshness of the spring onions and cucumber sticks, all wrapped up in the carboliciousness of the pancake wrap...ummm....mouthwateringly delectable. On the downside, anything this good comes with a price. I don't like the amount of fat and carb in this dish, therefore I seldom indulge in it.

As I was browsing through one of my Weight Watchers cookbooks looking for dinner ideas for tonight, I came across a recipe titled Hoisin Duck Vegetable Stir Fry.....GASP!! hoisin sauce and delicious duck breast in a weight watchers recipe?!? No Way!!!.....some of the BEAUTIFUL flavors of Peking Duck GUILT FREE! I definately had to give this a go, here's how it went...

Ingredients:

  

Sauce:
2/3 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp soya sauce
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1 tbsp corn starch

Vegetables:
3 scallions chopped
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger root
1/2 lb green beans ends trimmed
1 small yellow pepper seeded and sliced
1 cup grape tomatoes halved

2 tbsp dark sesame oil
1 lb boneless skinless duck breast cut into strips 'against grain'


1) Whisk chicken broth, hoisin sauce, soya sauce, and corn starch and set aside




2) Heat 1 tbsp of sesame oil in frying pan, and saute duck until browned and cooked through (about 5 minutes). Remove from pan and set aside.



3) Heat 2nd tbsp sesame oil in a frying pan, and saute ginger and scallions until fragrant (30 sec)

4) Add green beans and yellow pepper and stir fry until tender-crisp (5-7 minutes)



5) Add grape tomatoes and stir fry for another 1-2 minutes

6) Add duck meat and sauce mixture. Stir fry until sauce bubbles and thickens (about 2 minutes), stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

7) Serve over a bed of rice of your choice (I used basmati). Garnish with roasted sesame seeds if you wish. And Enjoy!! :)

This dish, needless to say, lacks the crispy skin and fat of the duck meat that you get with Peking Duck, so it certainly does not share that same flavor, but nonetheless, it has its own charm. It didn't quite satisfy my craving for the fatty carby goodness of authentic Peking Duck, but it did taste quite good! Would I repeat this recipe in the future? Probably! I think I'd omit the peppers and tomatoes, use a little more hoisin sauce, and top with raw spring onions and cucumber slivers to get something a little closer to Peking Duck!!